DIY

Magazine

Hands On

July 2026

Make an Origami Circuit Board

Create electrical traces by just folding a paperlike material

Create electrical traces by just folding a paperlike material

Qi Zhang

Kening Zhu

Qi Zhang is a Ph.D. student at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.

Kening Zhu is a professor at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.

A selection of papercraft objects, including a snowflake with LEDs, an aeroplane and helicopter with lights and motorized propellers, a frog with illuminated eyes, and a windmill with rotating vanes.

Folding and cutting material impregnated with conductive ink creates conductive pathways that can be used to power motors and lights.